Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom

During the mid- to late 1940s the United States Air Forces in Europe

United States Air Forces in Europe

The United States Air Forces in Europe is the United States Air Force component of U.S. European Command, a Department of Defense unified command, and is one of two Air Force Major Commands outside of the continental United States, the other being the Pacific Air Forces...

(USAFE) was occupied with supporting the movement of men and aircraft of the Strategic Air Command

Strategic Air Command

The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...

(SAC) to bases in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

Early Cold War Tensions

Tensions with the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

began as early as 1946, and U.S. President Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

decided to realign USAFE into a combat-capable force. In November, six B-29 Superfortress

B-29 Superfortress

The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...

bombers from SAC's 43d Bombardment Group

43d Airlift Wing

The 43rd Airlift Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Pope Army Airfield, part of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.The 43 AG performs en route operations support at Pope AAF to include mission command & control, aircrew management, aircraft maintenance, aircraft loading, aircraft fueling...

were sent to RAF Burtonwood

RAF Burtonwood

RAF Burtonwood was a Royal Air Force station in England, 2 miles north-west of Warrington, Lancashire. During World War II and the Cold War it was used by the United States Air Force and was also known as USAAF station 590.- Overview :...

, and from there to various bases in West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

as a "training deployment".

In May 1947, additional B-29s were sent to the UK and West Germany to keep up the presence of a training program. These deployments were only a cover-up, as the true aim of these B-29s was to have a strategic air force permanently stationed in Europe.

By 1948 Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

had become the focal point of East-West confrontation, and when surface entry into the city was cut by the Soviets, the Allies countered with the now famous Berlin Airlift. To counter further moves by the Communists, SAC again deployed units to the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. SAC continued rotational deployments of its strategic bomber force, keeping a strategic bomber force in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

for almost 20 years until 1966, when the B-47 Stratojet

B-47 Stratojet

The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...

was phased out of SAC's inventory.

B-29 deployments

Strategic Air Command B-29s began deploying to Europe on a regular basis during 1947, and during
that year, nine aircraft of the 97th Bomb Group

97th Air Mobility Wing

The 97th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing is also the host unit at Altus...

were based at Giebelstadt Army Airfield

Giebelstadt Army Airfield

Giebelstadt Army Airfield is a closed military airfield located in Germany southwest of Giebelstadt ; approximately 250 miles southwest of Berlin. It was turned over to the German government on 23 June 2006 and is now a general aviation airport....

, West Germany, for a thirty-day training/goodwill tour.

Several weeks before the Soviets blockaded Berlin, SAC – as a precautionary measure – sent a B-29 squadron from the 301st Bombardment Group to Furstenfeldbruck Air Base

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base is a German Air Force airfield located near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany....

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

and temporarily stationed two other squadrons from the 301st at Goose Bay Air Base

CFB Goose Bay

Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador....

, Newfoundland

Dominion of Newfoundland

The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, where they were held in readiness for instant deployment to European bases. The Pentagon

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

hoped that the stationing of these atomic weapon-capable bombers would have a deterrent effect in the conflict. However, there were safety risks posed by putting the B-29s so close to the Soviet-occupied zone—Giehelstadt and Furstenfeldbruck were 100 and 200 kilometers from the Iron Curtain

Iron Curtain

The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...

respectively, and therefore well within the reach of Soviet fighter-bombers operating from bases in East Germany and Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. All things considered, the SAC decided not to send future B-29 deployments to bases in West Germany but to less vulnerable bases in England.

All B-29 operations in England were placed under the command of the newly-formed 3rd Air Division

Third Air Force

The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe . It is headquartered at Ramstein Air Base, Germany....

, headquartered at the RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...

base at RAF Marham

RAF Marham

Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....

. In addition, the RAF had put several other airfields at the Americans' disposal including RAF Scampton

RAF Scampton

Royal Air Force Station Scampton is a Royal Air Force station situated north of Lincoln in England, near the village of Scampton, on the site of an old First World War landing field.-First World War:...

, RAF Waddington

RAF Waddington

RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England.-Formation:Waddington opened as a Royal Flying Corps flying training station in 1916 until 1920, when the station went into care and maintenance....

and RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

.

One of the first Groups to arrive in England for a ninety-day tour was the 28th Bombardment Group

28th Bomb Wing

The 28th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota...

which deployed from Rapid City AFB

Rapid City Regional Airport

Rapid City Regional Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located eight nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Rapid City, in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States.- Facilities and aircraft :...

, South Dakota

South Dakota

South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

, to RAF Scampton during 1948. 28th BG aircraft carried a Black R within a Black circle on both sides of the fin. The R denoted the Group while the circle identified the parent unit, the 15th Air Force. Many units later carried their parent numbered Air Force unit badge on the base of the fin. These aircraft also had various colored nose wheel doors and fin tips denoting their respective squadrons.

The 2nd Air Force carried a Black square on its B-29s and the 8th Air Force used a triangle. It is believed that when a Group or Wing transferred from one numbered Air Force to another, their identification letter remained the same; however, the numbered air force geometric identification symbol changed.

During this time frame, the B-29s often carried colorful personal markings and squadron colors. The squadron colors were usually carried on the nose wheel doors, fin tips and as fuselage bands. Some B-29s retained the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

flat black undersurfaces while others carried red tail sections and outer wing panels, known as Arctic markings, which were used to make the aircraft more visible in the event of a forced landing on snow covered terrain.

Aircraft of the 93rd Bombardment Group

93d Air Control Wing

The 93d Air-Ground Operations Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed as a tenant unit at Moody AFB, Georgia....

carried individual squadron letters on the fuselage sides followed by the last two digits of the aircraft's serial number. The three squadrons within the Group were, the 328th Bomb Squadron (A), the 329th Squadron (C) and the 330th Squadron (B). By 1954, the use of Bomb Group letter codes and Air Force geometric identification symbols had terminated.

A number of B-29s of the 97th Bombardment Group

97th Air Mobility Wing

paid a similar visit to RAF Marham

RAF Marham

Royal Air Force Station Marham, more commonly known as RAF Marham, is a Royal Air Force station; a military airbase, near the village of Marham in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia....

. These early B-29s carried no group markings and most were overall natural metal, although a few had Flat Black undersurfaces. The aircraft carried standard USAF markings, with buzz numbers in Black on natural metal aircraft and in Yellow on aircraft with Flat Black undersurfaces. Later, B-29s began carrying geometric symbols painted on the fin, usually surrounding a Group identification letter.

Occasionally, SB-29 rescue aircraft were also seen in the United Kingdom. These aircraft carried their usual rescue markings including a Yellow, outlined in Black, rear fuselage identification band. SB-29 deployments were usually accompanied by an F-13 (RB-29) photo reconnaissance aircraft. These aircraft also carried the Yellow rescue markings and sometimes a Black tail code.

B-50 deployments

During 1949, the 43d Bombardment Group

43d Airlift Wing

deployed to Britain with the first Boeing B-50 Superfortress

B-50 Superfortress

The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...

. The Boeing B-50 Superfortress was a post-World War II revision of the wartime B-29 Superfortress with new, more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, a taller vertical stabilizer, and other improvements. The B-50 started as a B-29D, however for political reasons, a new designation was made.

Earlier, the B-29s had required forward bases for refueling, however most of the B-50s were equipped with in-flight refueling capability. To refuel the B-50s, the 43d Group had a squadron of KB-29M tankers (B-29s with no armament and large fuel tanks installed in the bomb bays and fuel transfer gear added). The KB-29s carried the same style markings as the B-50s (diagonal stripes in squadron colors).

The 2nd Bombardment Group

2d Bomb Wing

The 2d Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command and Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The wing is also the host unit at Barksdale...

continued the style of markings used with the earlier B-29s on their B-50s (painted nose wheel doors, fuselage bands and fin tips). Additionally, large squadron badges were carried on the sides of the aircraft nose.

SAC B-50s were regular visitors to RAF St Eval

RAF St Eval

RAF St Eval was a strategic airbase for the RAF Coastal Command in the Second World War . St Eval's primary role was to provided anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south west coast of England...

in Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, and they regularly participated in static displays at various RAF bases during the Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

celebrations between 1948 and 1951.

B-36 deployments

On September 4, 1949 the United States received reports that a B-29 over the north Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

had observed a large radiation cloud. Analysis showed that this cloud was from an atomic explosion on the Asian mainland sometime between 26 and 29 August. The Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

had the atom bomb, far earlier than the United States expected it.

The atomic umbrella which the B-29s and B-50s brought to Western Europe consisted of just thirty atom bombs, probably stored in West Germany or England. In 1948, there were only 32 B-29s converted to carry nuclear weapons. With the Soviet Union having the atomic bomb, American strategy had to be changed drastically. These changes radically affected SAC, as its nuclear force in 1950 consisted of obsolescent B-29s and B-50s. These bombers had to be replaced and the massive B-36 Peacemaker was introduced to Western Europe.

The first B-36Ds deployed to England were those of the 7th Bombardment Group

7th Bomb Wing

The 7th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. It is stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, where it is also the host unit....

which were based at RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

during exercise OPERATION UK held in January 1951. These aircraft were in natural metal with the last three digits of the serial number on the forward fuselage sides and the 8th Air Force badge carried on the base of the fin.

B-36s made regular visits to England for exercises between 1951 and 1959. On one occasion, an RB-36H (51-5744) of the 72d Bombardment Wing

72d Air Base Wing

The 72d Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center . It is stationed at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma...

was making a fly-by during RAF St Mawgan's Battle of Britain display (September 1952) when it developed engine trouble. The aircraft landed, giving the crowd an opportunity to closely inspect an SAC B-36. The aircraft was natural metal with a large Black triangle and S letter code on the fin. The last three digits of the serial were positioned on the forward fuselage sides, the fin tip was Black and the nose wheel doors were Black with a diagonal White stripe.

The 42nd Bombardment Wing

42d Air Base Wing

The 42nd Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Air University. It is stationed at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama...

visited RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford was a Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. The base was brought into use for flying in July 1918 by the Royal Flying Corps. During World War II it was used by many units of the RAF, mainly as a training...

and RAF Burtonwood

RAF Burtonwood

between 15 and 23 September 1954 and later the entire wing deployed to RAF Upper Heyford (October/November 1955). Sixteen B-36s visited RAF Burtonwood in 1956, while RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....

also played host to a number of these giants. The B-36s now carried White under surfaces with the legend U.S. Air Force in Black on the fuselage sides and sometimes the last three digits of the serial number. A Blue Strategic Air Command sash was carried on both sides of the nose with the SAC badge on the port side and the Bomb Wing badge on the starboard side (early aircraft did not always carry the Wing badge).

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 reached its peak in October when an estimated hundred thousand Hungarians demonstrated in Heroes Square in Budapest. American Defense Secretary Wilson ordered Strategic Air Command to deploy sixteen Convair B-36H Peacemaker long-range bombers to England from the 42nd Bombardment Wing at Loring AFB, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. They landed on 21 October after a non-stop flight over the Atlantic to RAF Greenham Common

RAF Greenham Common

RAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....

. It was possibly the first time that such a large number of B-36s had been sent to an overseas USAF base. Also, it was perhaps also the first time since the Berlin Crisis of 1948 that the United States so openly threw its nuclear power into the political ring.

The American show of force did not restrain the Soviet Union because on 4 December 1956 the Red Army invaded Hungary to crush the uprising against the communist regime.

The B-36s remained in England until January when the crisis passed from the headlines. It was the only time the Peacemaker was used in a show of force. It is not known whether the B-36s were at nuclear alert during their stay and were ready to use nuclear weapons. With the withdrawal of the B-36s, the 310th Bombardment Wing from Smokey Hill AFB, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

deployed to Greenham Common with B-47 Stratojets as part of a routine Reflex deployment.

B-47 deployments

Stationing SAC bombers at British air bases, from where the Soviet Union was within range, offered a certain amount of support to America's strategic plans. The Pentagon's strategy was based on massive retaliation against Russia if the Soviet Union started a war. This plan, code-named `Trojan', meant Strategic Air Command going into full scale action.

Trojan's `backbone' was formed by the Boeing B-47A Stratojets that had been in service with SAC since the end of 1951. The Stratojet could reach a speed of more than 1,000 km/h, which at the time was faster than most interceptor fighters, and fly for 7,000 kilometers without refuelling - more than enough to be able to strike at large tracts of the Soviet Union from bases in England.

To support the Trojan strategy the 7th Air Division was established in May 1951 at South Ruislip AS

South Ruislip

South Ruislip is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon.The population, according to the 2001 UK census, was 10,823. By 2008, this had reached 11,116.-Education:...

(near London) and later Relocated to High Wycombe Abby

RAF High Wycombe

RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. Its purpose is to serve the needs of the RAF Air Command, situated on the site. It is also the headquarters of the European Air Group...

(Later Renamed: U.S. Air Base High Wycombe; High Wycombe Air Station; RAF High Wycombe). The 7th used several RAF stations in England. Reconstruction of four former RAF bases was begun. Work to make these airfields - Fairford, Brize Norton, Upper Heyford and Greenham Common - suitable for use by B-47s included lengthening the take-off and landing strips and building concrete bunkers for the nuclear weapons.

In 1953 the 7th Air Division began a system of B-47 deployments to English bases. These temporary duty postings (TDY) generally involved an entire Wing of 45 B-47s, together with around twenty Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters (flying tankers), being held at readiness at an English base for ninety days. At the end of the TDY period they were relieved by another Wing that was, generally, stationed at a different airfield.

The first B-47s to visit the United Kingdom arrived on 7 April 1953, when the two aircraft of the 306th Bombardment Wing landed at RAF Fairford

RAF Fairford

RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force station in Gloucestershire, England. It is a standby airfield, not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in...

, Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, after flying non-stop from Limestone AFB, Maine

Maine

. After a short visit, they returned to MacDill AFB, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.

The 306th Bomb Wing, based at MacDill AFB, Florida, was the first SAC unit to equip with the B-47B and was the first unit to deploy to the United Kingdom for a ninety day tour of duty. The 306th Bomb Wing arrived at Fairford Air Base on Thursday 4 June 1953 accompanied by fourteen aircraft. A further fifteen B-47s followed over the next two days, bringing the Wing up to its full strength of forty-five aircraft. The 306th BW comprised three squadrons, the 367th, 368th and 369th. Squadron markings consisted of a tail band in the appropriate color and a small squadron badge on the fuselage just below the cockpit. The B-47s remained in USAFE until August/September 1953.

The 305th Bombardment Wing (Medium) was the next Stratojet unit to deploy. The wing arrived at Fairford in September 1953 and returned to the U.S. on 3 December 1953. The wing had been accompanied during its deployment by KC-97 tankers, which were also based in England during the bomber's ninety day tour of duty and carried out air-to-air refueling of the B-47s both on the trip to England and on their return to the States. The refueling squadrons were normally assigned to the particular bomb wing for the entire period of their deployment. The tankers were usually overall natural metal with a band on the fin in the squadron color and Arctic Red outer wing panels and tail sections. The 22nd Bombardment Wing followed and was based at RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

from December 1953 until March 1954.

The B-47s were usually overall natural metal. Later, they were painted with a White anti-nuclear flash paint scheme. The White area included the undersides of the wings, tails, engine nacelles and fuselage, with the White area running halfway up the fuselage side. Wing/squadron assignment was usually indicated by a colored stripe (sometimes two) applied horizontally or diagonally across the top of the fin. A small U.S. Air Force legend was applied to the upper forward fuselage sides between the cockpit and the White demarcation line. The SAC sash was carried on each side of the nose with the wing insignia on the starboard side and the SAC badge on the port side. The auxiliary fuel tanks were usually natural metal.

The 97th Bombardment Wing deployed with their B-47Es to RAF Upper Heyford from May to July 1956 together with the KC-97s of the 97th Refueling Squadron. The B-47Es had a slightly revised anti-nuclear paint scheme, with the White area being reduced.

Other Bomb Wings that rotated through English bases included the 98th Bombardment Wing at RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

(November 1955 - January 1956) and the 310th Bombardment Wing at RAF Greenham Common

RAF Greenham Common

RAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....

(October 1956 - January 1957).

After several years of constant deployments, the B-47s began to suffer noticeably from the intensive use. Also, the deployments became a heavy burden for the Military Air Transport Service

Military Air Transport Service

The Military Air Transport Service is an inactive Department of Defense Unified Command. Activated on 1 June 1948, MATS was a consolidation of the United States Navy Naval Air Transport Service and the United States Air Force Air Transport Command into a single, joint, unified command...

(MATS) which had to transport thousands of personnel and tons of material to and from the United States in just a few days to support these rotations.

In 1958 it was decided the TDY postings would be replaced by a new system of overseas deployments called Reflex. The ninety-day deployments were replaced by twenty-one day deployments of aircraft and crews instead of entire bomber wings. In this way a permanent SAC presence would be established at bases with aircraft being deployed for three weeks from several SAC bases, being kept on full alert status ready for instant takeoff. The Stratojets were based at RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....

3920th Strategic Wing

The 3920th Strategic Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit, being inactivated on 31 March 1965.The 3920th SW was a non-flying ground service support element for the Strategic Air Command 7th Air Division, based at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It was established...

, RAF Fairford

RAF Fairford

3919th Combat Support Group , RAF Greenham Common

RAF Greenham Common

RAF Station Greenham Common is a former military airfield in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southwest of Thatcham; about west of London....

3909th Combat Support Group, RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall is a Royal Air Force station located at Mildenhall in Suffolk, England. Despite its status as an RAF station, it primarily supports United States Air Force operations and is currently the home of the 100th Air Refueling Wing...

3910th Combat Support Group, and RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

3918th Strategic Wing

The 3918th Strategic Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit, being inactivated on 31 March 1965.The 3918th SW was a ground service support element for the Strategic Air Command 7th Air Division, stationed at RAF Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It was established on 1...

. In 1960 SAC withdrew from RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath

RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

and released the base to USAFE for the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing relocating from France.

SAC units using these bases included the 98th, 307th and 310th Bomb Wings (Greenham Common) and the 2nd, 308th and 384th Bomb Wings (RAF Fairford). The 100th, 301st and 98th also used RAF Bruntingthorpe

RAF Bruntingthorpe

RAF Bruntingthorpe was a Royal Air Force station in Leicestershire between 1942 and 1962.-History:The station was opened in 1942 as home of 29 Operational Training Unit operating the Vickers Wellington. Bruntingthorpe was not used between 1946 and 1957 when it transferred to the United States Air...

, RAF Chelveston

RAF Chelveston

RAF Station Chelveston was a military airfield located on the south side of the A45, 5 miles east of Wellingborough, near the village of Chelveston in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom....

and RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

for short periods.

Other units known to have operated in England were the 301st and 380th Wings with EB-47s at RAF Brize Norton, the 340th Wing at RAF Fairford with B-47Es, and the 96th and 307th Wings at RAF Upper Heyford. This method of bomber deployment lasted until 1965.

Besides B-47E bombers, English bases also played host to the RB-47Es, EB-47s and RB-47Hs of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. The RB-47s based at RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton

RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, is the largest station of the Royal Air Force. It is close to the settlements of Brize Norton, Carterton and Witney....

, and relocated to RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

mid 1965. After the Inactivation of the B-47 and KC-97 units, the SAC mission was performed by Detachment 1, 98th Strategic Wing at RAF Upper Heyford, (The 98th Strategic Wing, operated the Spanish Tanker Task Force, with KC-135's, from Torrejon AB, Spain). These units performed some of the most sensitive reconnaissance missions of the Cold War. During its service, at least two of these planes were lost flying missions over the Soviet Union. One incident occurred during a photographic mission over the Soviet Union. The plane was intercepted and fired upon by Soviet MiGs and sustained wing damage. Fortunately, it was able to outrun them at altitude and return to England. The second aircraft was shot down in the near but outside Soviet airspace in July 1960. The RB-47's were eventually retired from SAC in December 1965m and replaced with the RC-135's operation from RAF Upper Heyford until April 1970 when the Detachment relocated to RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall

, these mission later supported by the Lockheed U-2's, TR-1's, and SR-71's.

The progressive phase-out of the B-47 and KC-97 from the USAF inventory in the mid 1960s brought the end of SAC's Reflex operations and to the 7th Air Division in Europe. The advent of reliable multiple warhead Intercontinental ballistic missile

Intercontinental ballistic missile

An intercontinental ballistic missile is a ballistic missile with a long range typically designed for nuclear weapons delivery...

s based in the United States and intercontinental B-52 bombers with inflight refueling capability made many of SAC's UK bases redundant. By 1966 SAC had transferred some of its UK bases to USAFE and reduced its operations to a reconnaissance and aerial refueling Detachment at RAF Upper Heyford

RAF Upper Heyford

. Some of these bases, (Upper Heyford) were used to accommodate the 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in 1965, (RAF Mildenall) a the 513th Troop Carrier Wing in 1966, being relocated from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, while others were returned to RAF control or put into standby status (Chevelston, Fairford, Greenham Common).

B-52 deployments

The 93rd Bombardment Wing

93d Air Control Wing

The 93d Air-Ground Operations Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Ninth Air Force. It is stationed as a tenant unit at Moody AFB, Georgia....

at Castle AFB, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, had been serving as the Combat Crew Training Unit for the B-47 when it was selected to become the B-52 Combat Crew Training Wing, receiving its first aircraft during mid-1955. The 93rd made a number of record flights with the B-52, including the first non-stop jet flight around the world during January 1957. Five B-52Bs took off from Castle AFB to participate in the record attempt. Three aircraft completed the 23,574 miles trip in an average time of 45.19 hours. Two aircraft diverted, with one landing in Newfoundland

Dominion of Newfoundland

and the other at Brize Norton. This aircraft, a B-52B (53-395) named "City of Turlock" was assigned to the 330th Bomb Squadron.

During the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

years, B-52s became regular visitors to the United Kingdom, turning up at bases such as Greenham Common and also taking part in RAF Bomber competitions, but were deployed to NATO on an individual basis, not as groups or wings.

In August 1968, Chevelston was put on alert for a possible B-52 deployment during the Czechoslovakian Crisis

Prague Spring

The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...

, but no units or aircraft were deployed there.

In 1977 the USAF announced plans to reactivate Greenham Common to house a squadron

Squadron (aviation)

A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

of KC-135 Stratotanker

KC-135 Stratotanker

The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an aerial refueling military aircraft. It and the Boeing 707 airliner were developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratotanker...

s, due to a lack of capacity at the KC-135's main UK base, RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall

. This led to widespread local opposition, and in 1978 the British Defence Secretary vetoed the plan. Instead, Fairford was reopened and the 11th Strategic Group

11th Wing

The 11th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is stationed at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland. It is the host unit at Joint Base Andrews....

activated with the aerial refueling mission. The aerial tankers supported B-52s performing airborne alert duty under codenames such as Head Start, Chrome Dome, Hard Head, Round Robin, and Giant Lance, refueling bombers which loitered near points outside the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

. These tankers would play a major role in supporting the attack on Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

in 1986. The KC-135s were withdrawn in 1990 at the end of the Cold War and the airfield was returned to standby status.

During Operation Desert Storm, B-52s used RAF Fairford

RAF Fairford

as a forward operating base. Fairford was also used during Operation Allied Force

Operation Allied Force

The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...

in 1999, and during the 2003 Iraq War. During these three conflicts, the Fairford was the home to B-52s, along with the B-1 Lancer

B-1 Lancer

The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...

, and KC-135 aircraft, and their support personnel. In recent years Fairford has been used by Air Combat Command

Air Combat Command

Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....

B-2 Spirit

The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...

stealth bombers.

European Reconnaissance Center

In the 1970s a growing SAC presence with refuelling tankers and aerial reconnaissance led to the reactivation of the 7th Air Division at Ramstein Air Base

Ramstein Air Base

Ramstein Air Base is a United States Air Force base in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz. It serves as headquarters for the United States Air Forces in Europe and is also a North Atlantic Treaty Organization installation...

, West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

in June 1978, and later being reassigned to RAF Mildenhall

RAF Mildenhall

. The 7th AD controlled all SAC operations in Europe though the 306th Strategic Wing. Operations included B-52 deployments, U-2 strategic reconnaissance operations

Lockheed U-2

The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...

at RAF Alconbury

RAF Alconbury

RAF Alconbury is an active Royal Air Force station in Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is adjacent to the Stukeleys [Great and Little] and located about northwest of Huntingdon; about north of London....

and SR-71, KC-135 and RC-135 activities at Mildenhall.

With the arrival of the 306th SW, Mildenhall also became known as SAC's European Reconnaissance center. For many years various types of reconnaissance aircraft were observed regularly arriving and departing from the Mildenhall runway. Most of these aircraft were deployed from the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Offutt AFB, Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

.

For many years various types of Boeing RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft were observed regularly arriving and departing from the Mildenhall runway. Most of these aircraft had the capability to receive radar and radio signals from far behind the borders of the Communist Eastern Bloc. From Mildenhall the RC-135s flew ELINT and COMINT missions along the borders of Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. The twenty or so specialists on board the RC-135s during such missions listened to and recorded military radio frequencies and communications.

In 1976 Detachment 4, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing arrived at Mildenhall, which controlled rotational Lockheed U-2

Lockheed U-2

and SR-71 Blackbird

SR-71 Blackbird

The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by the Lockheed Skunk Works. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the...

operations from the base. It is not known when SAC first began making reconnaissance flights in Europe with these aircraft. There are indications that these fast aircraft have been operating in Europe since the end of the 1960s, with an SR-71 making a stopover in August 1970 at RAF Upper Heyford before a mission over the Middle East.

These aircraft carried out strategic photo reconnaissance missions for NATO and the USAF within the framework of the SALT I Agreement of 1972. Under this agreement the Soviet Union and the United States reached agreement on a partial freeze on the number of offensive nuclear weapons and these flights were to check that the Soviets were adhering to the agreement.

As well as the photo missions the 9th SRW gathered telemetry signals from Soviet missile systems. Such missions were carried out using the SR-71 and U-2/TR-1 aircraft and Boeing RC-135s from the 55th SRW. This information was analysed, together with information originating from reconnaissance satellites to present an intelligence picture for analysis to assemble a good picture of Soviet activities for national decision-making.

The 306th SW also played a major role in the success of Operation El Dorado Canyon

Operation El Dorado Canyon

The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, comprised the joint United States Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps air-strikes against Libya on April 15, 1986. The attack was carried out in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing.-Origins:Shortly after his...

, the American attack on the Libya

Libya

n capital of Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

in 1986. In support of this 14-hour, radio-silence rendezvous mission, the unit deployed the largest number of refuelling aircraft ever flown over Europe and the largest fleet of KC-10's ever airborne at one time. In addition, the day after the attack 9th SW aircraft made several unmolested flights over the bombed military targets in and around Tripoli and Benghazi

Benghazi

Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...

.

From their arrival until the departure of the last SR-71 on 18 January 1990, the 306th Strategic Wing's SR-71 and U-2 aircraft came to symbolize RAF Mildenhall in the local public's eye.

With the deactivation of Strategic Air Command in 1992 and the end of the Cold War

Cold War

, current activities at Mildenhall are now controlled by Air Combat Command

Air Combat Command

Air Combat Command is a major command of the United States Air Force. ACC is one of ten major commands , reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force ....

and USAFE.

In fiction

Literary scholars have suggested that in George Orwell

George Orwell

Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...

's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...

, Orwell's use of the term "Airstrip One" for Britain was a reference to the concept that for NATO, England was little more than a glorified airbase, a natural "aircraft carrier," from which to base the sorties of the seemingly inevitable World War III

World War III

World War III denotes a successor to World War II that would be on a global scale, with common speculation that it would be likely nuclear and devastating in nature....

Early Cold War Tensions

B-29 deployments

B-50 deployments

B-36 deployments

B-47 deployments

B-52 deployments

European Reconnaissance Center

In fiction

See also